Migration Narratives and Media Framing: An Input–Processing–Response Perspective of Media–Audience Associations

Migration Narratives and Media Framing: An Input–Processing–Response Perspective of Media–Audience Associations | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Migration Narratives and Media Framing: An Input–Processing–Response Perspective of Media–Audience Associations Giulia Contu, Carla Massidda, Francesco Mola, Marco Ortu, Silvio Tunis This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7439008/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study investigates associations between media narratives and public discourse on immigration in Italy using an input--processing--response framework in which media outlet posts are the inputs, audience cognition and interaction constitute processing, and social media comments are the responses. We combine Structural Topic Modeling, Fightin' Words, Regularized Association Analysis, and sentiment/emotion measures to examine topic transmission and keyword alignment between outlet posts and comments. We document systematic variation in framing across outlets—ranging from humanitarian to security emphases—and observe that comment threads display broader thematic dispersion than outlet posts. Regularized models indicate that specific post topics (e.g., humanitarian and migration management) are associated with distinct comment–topic mixtures and shifts in lexical salience. Sentiment and hate indicators vary by outlet and topic; hostile and extreme content is more prevalent around humanitarian and migration-management themes. Taken together, these results characterize how media inputs relate to audience responses in this observational setting and provide evidence relevant to media regulation, platform governance, and media literacy. Structural Topic Modeling Sentiment and Emotion Analysis Hate Speech Media Framing Social Media Immigration Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 04 Nov, 2025 Reviews received at journal 26 Oct, 2025 Reviews received at journal 15 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 04 Oct, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 09 Sep, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 07 Sep, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 27 Aug, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 27 Aug, 2025 First submitted to journal 23 Aug, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7439008","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":512429578,"identity":"a16861e3-7a48-4d96-858b-3bebf17054c5","order_by":0,"name":"Giulia Contu","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Cagliari","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Giulia","middleName":"","lastName":"Contu","suffix":""},{"id":512429579,"identity":"666926d6-58be-4e28-b360-f864e6a65d8b","order_by":1,"name":"Carla Massidda","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Cagliari","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Carla","middleName":"","lastName":"Massidda","suffix":""},{"id":512429580,"identity":"d03132a9-cb72-4db4-bd81-bb737100c781","order_by":2,"name":"Francesco Mola","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Cagliari","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Francesco","middleName":"","lastName":"Mola","suffix":""},{"id":512429581,"identity":"4cc74702-32a0-4b4b-a657-b3187bee394b","order_by":3,"name":"Marco Ortu","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAwUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYHAD5gMMDAYgmlgNPAxsCVAtxOrhYeAxgFmHX6Vu+9mHHz4w2OTbS+R8ky4osJNnYOc/gFeL2Zl0Y8kZDGmWPRK526RnGCQbNhBymNmBNDZmHobDBjwgLTwGBxgJazn/DKYl5xlIiz1hLTfgtuSwgbQkEqHlGbPkDIM0A54zz4yteQySk9uYmQ3wazmfxvjhQ4WNAXt78sPbPH/sbPv5Dz7Abw0YIBvLRoT6UTAKRsEoGAUEAADV8zQ5ZOMlJwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"University of Cagliari","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Marco","middleName":"","lastName":"Ortu","suffix":""},{"id":512429582,"identity":"107f35d9-48d3-4a63-bef9-615cc7aa5af7","order_by":4,"name":"Silvio Tunis","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Cagliari","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Silvio","middleName":"","lastName":"Tunis","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-08-23 06:23:26","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7439008/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7439008/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":91495520,"identity":"b0cf6841-d35b-4a7e-aa99-4b7af6c4df25","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-09-17 06:17:43","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2505778,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"EPJMigrationNarrativesanMediaFraming.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7439008/v1_covered_0e88a983-d3aa-4ed6-abe7-b0f77b953b4b.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Migration Narratives and Media Framing: An Input–Processing–Response Perspective of Media–Audience Associations","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"epj-data-science","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"epds","sideBox":"Learn more about [EPJ Data Science](https://epjdatascience.springeropen.com/)","snPcode":"13688","submissionUrl":"https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/13688/3","title":"EPJ Data Science","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Open","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Structural Topic Modeling, Sentiment and Emotion Analysis, Hate Speech, Media Framing, Social Media, Immigration","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7439008/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7439008/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"This study investigates associations between media narratives and public discourse on immigration in Italy using an input--processing--response framework in which media outlet posts are the inputs, audience cognition and interaction constitute processing, and social media comments are the responses. 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